


Bonfire

by NotThatSavvy



Category: Hotdaga, Original Work
Genre: Gloob is real sad and he doesn’t understand why everyone’s happy, OCs - Freeform, Parental Death, also sorry Cap I invented like seven different characters, everyone has the wrong idea, hotdaga dnd campaign (yes that exists), infinite soup - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-20 23:23:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16565078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotThatSavvy/pseuds/NotThatSavvy
Summary: Gloob stayed as far away from the celebration as possible, but despite his efforts, he could still smell the smoke. The smoke from the bonfire, the smoke from the ruins of Hell base, the smoke from the smoldering bodies of the chili warriors he had called his family. The small plupple’s world was burning down all around him and the only thing he could do was choke on the awful smell of smoke.





	Bonfire

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, yes, I wrote fanfiction for my hotdaga OC. Please don’t judge me, I just love my boy and this dnd campaign so much, Cap, if you’re reading this, thank you for my life.

The roar of laughter and the sound of music filled the night air. Orange light flickered from the huge bonfire, embers floating like fireflies, suspended in the dark sky among the countless stars. The air was warm with the fire’s glow and the atmosphere reflected it, a lighthearted group of soldiers talking jovially, drinking and dancing and having fun. It was a beautiful scene, full of hope and happiness. The laughter roared again, just like the flames of the fire as someone told a stupid joke about something that didn’t really matter, and the festivities continued on into the night.

Gloob was on the far side of the celebration, away from the celebrating crowd of strangers, but despite wanting to get away from the group, the fire they were burning still found him, seemingly ever-present no matter how far he walked away. Unlike the soldiers at the party though, he didn’t feel the warmth. He didn’t feel the happiness or the hope or the excitement in the air. Instead, all he could feel was smoke. It billowed in the air all around him: smoke from the bonfire, from the ruins of the burned base not far away, smoke from the charred bodies of the chili soldiers he’d called his family and all the small plupple could do was choke of the thick fog of smoke in the air, trying his best to hold back the sobs that were stuck in his throat.

Despite his best efforts, the tears still came. And when, with a shaky hand, he wiped his tears with the scarf around his neck, he saw the knitted blue fabric and let loose another choked cry as he remembered yet again that his parents were gone forever. He still couldn’t believe it, it had happened so quickly, but somehow, he knew it was true. He’d never get another sweater or quilt for his birthday from Flek, he’d never hear the rest of Drax’s incredible bedtime story, he’d never wake up, scared from nightmares after a rough mission and end up falling asleep on the couch in a pile of fluffy blankets with his dads right next to him. He didn’t have anyone anymore, not really, and realizing that he would be alone from now on scared him more than any nightmare ever had before.

He could go back to the chilis, he knew that, but he didn’t even know where the nearest base was. It didn’t help that the empire was unforgiving, and without his dads there to protect him, the higher ups might see him as a weak link and dispose of him, even despite his status as a great assassin. He was a plupple: small and unimportant and stupid and not even able to lie. They didn’t need someone like him, no one did.

As he fiddled with the fabric of his scarf distractedly, Gloob found himself wishing he’d been at the base instead when it had exploded, and debated just throwing himself into the bonfire to get it over with. That seemed a bit too emo though, so instead, he decided to cry some more, pulling his hood lower, cradling the scarf and just....letting everything out, shaking with quiet sobs.

“Hey, uh, blue guy?”

Not expecting another voice, Gloob looked up from his breakdown and was surprised to see a young soldier, a soup he’d remembered the captain of the squadron call Gnocchi, standing a few feet away. The soup was carrying a half-empty bottle of beer, his hair a bit messed up and a smile on his face. He’d clearly been having fun at the party, but his smile faded, replaced with a look of worry when he saw the plupple’s tear-filled eyes. Gloob looked away again, wiping his tears and feeling bad about being upset when everyone else was having such a great time.

“Hey, you ok, bud?” Gnocchi frowned, sitting next to Gloob on the log and putting his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “I thought you’d be happier tonight.”

Gloob’s breath hitched at the words and another sob came, seemingly confusing the soup even more as he stared befuddled at the plupple’s continued distress. “M-my family’s gone and I don’t have anywhere to go... I don’t have anywhere to go a-and I miss them, I miss my dads but they’re gone forever and I don’t know what to do.” Gloob finally choked out, breaking down and weeping yet again. Gnocchi looked at him sadly.

Without a word, the soup hugged Gloob tightly, holding him close, and having another person there with him, Gloob cried even harder, holding onto the stranger like a lifeline and burying his tear-streaked face into the soldier’s uniform. “Hey, hey, bud, it’s okay...” Gnocchi whispered softly. “Trust me, I understand, a lot of us here do. The chili empire has done so much to poison the universe, they’ve destroyed so many lives. My dad was a soldier too, just like I am, but he was killed fairly early on by some of the monsters in that base. There’s a lot of people here that have lost the ones they care about, but you know what?” Gnocchi pulled away and smiled wide at the other. “Because of you, so many lives have been saved. You’re so brave for breaking out of there, for giving us that information, and I’m sure that your parents would be so incredibly proud of you.”

Gloob stopped crying for a moment and blinked, confused. He didn’t understand what the soldier was talking about. He didn’t give any information, just a fun little map he’d drawn when they asked where he lived. He didn’t break out, he was on a scouting mission. And above all, he definitely hadn’t done anything that would save lives, he had just finished an assassination mission a few days before. The stranger wasn’t making any sense, but before he could correct him, the man ruffled his messy hair with a smile, put an arm around him and yelled in the direction of the party.

“Everyone! This little dude right here is the reason our mission was a success!”

Heads turned, the discussion and laughter stopped, and suddenly, a crowd of people were around the small plupple, congratulating him, telling him that he did a great job, that he’d made a difference. Gloob didn’t know what to do, overwhelmed by the attention and still trying to hold back tears from his breakdown only a few moments before. He started to panic, but before he could do anything, a figure broke through the crowd, pushing the soldiers out of the way irritatedly.

“Give the kid some space, will you?” They said, sounding annoyed, and a few of the soldiers laughed, stepping out of the way so they could get through. The small plupple was in awe at the sight of the new figure, tall and incredibly cool looking, with brightly colored hair and fierce, but kind, eyes. A soft smile lit up the stranger’s face as they kneeled in front of Gloob and put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, are you alright, kid? I know it’s probably been a tough day for you.”

Gloob nodded, not trusting himself to speak without breaking into tears again, and this new figure smiled, looking at him sympathetically. “My name is Hylo. I was in charge of this mission and because of you and the information you gave us, we won. It may not feel like it. I know you’re scared, but you did a good thing today. What’s your name?”

“Gl-Gloob.” Gloob said, tears running down his face again. He wiped his eyes, quickly, but the dragonfruit in front of him didn’t seem to care, still smiling kindly.

“Well, Gloob. I just want you to know that you were very brave giving those blueprints to General Chowder.” Hylo responded sincerely. “If you hadn’t, lots of people would have died, and your actions stopped that from happening. Because of you, this war has been turned for the better. You’re a hero, Gloob.”

Somehow, the other’s words made him feel a bit better, although he still didn’t understand what they were talking about. There was something big about what everyone was saying that didn’t make sense though. “But...but people did die!!” He protested, confused. “M-my dads, they’re gone now, they’re....they’re dead and gone.”

Hylo frowned, and in their sympathetic expression, Gloob could tell they knew exactly what he was going through. “You can’t bring them back. I’m sorry.” They said sadly. “But you’ve saved other plupples, other people, from going through the same thing. The Hell base was an operating grounds for the worst of the worst. Keral, Otra, Drax, Flek, Gen, so many high ranking chili soldiers wont be able to do any more harm because of your help.”

Gloob didn’t understand. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on, what this person was talking about, but hearing his father’s names, he started crying yet again, the memories of the burning building seared into his mind, burned into his heart. Arms wrapped around him, pulling him close, and Gloob realized that Hylo was hugging him. He hugged them back as he weeped, relived that there were people here for him now at least.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now.” The dragonfruit told him softly, and even though Gloob had doubted it before, he knew after that that it had to be true.

The celebration continued well into the night and somehow, despite the despair Gloob felt at the destruction of everything he’d ever known, he was happy, even for the briefest moment, around these nice new people. They were all so good to him, kind and thoughtful and when Gnocchi told some more lame jokes to the group of soldiers, the plupple found himself laughing at them, even through his tears. The fire burned into the night and even after a week, when the squadron had long since left the planet with the small plupple with them, Gloob could still feel its warmth. Though in his heart, he was still suffocating on the bitter smoke, it felt good to be around such welcoming, friendly people, people who genuinely cared and thought of him as a friend, as a hero even.

That warmth, that friendly atmosphere, was exactly why Gloob knew he needed to leave. He waited a few weeks until they stopped on a crowded planet for supplies. Then, when no one was looking, he slipped away into the sea of people. His experience as a spy made him used to sneaking around, so it was easy to avoid them, to get away and catch a ride off planet with some smugglers.

Being around such happy people just made Gloob sadder than before. He wasn’t ready for a new family, for people that cared about him. Not yet. The wounds were still fresh, still sizzling with the burning embers of his parents loss. Maybe one day he’d be ready, but until then, the only thing Gloob could do was run away.

At least that was something he was good at.


End file.
